


a bed of roses and the river at dawn

by back2the_ocean



Series: Charlie Hargreeves [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Canon typical drug use, Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Drama, Gen, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Rape/Non-con Elements, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Sexual Assault, The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) Need a Hug, Time Travel, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, the hargreeves need some family therapy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26131618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/back2the_ocean/pseuds/back2the_ocean
Summary: In one world, the young teenager hid when she abruptly found herself pregnant and she gave birth in secret, left the baby on a random doorstep, and never looked back. Unfortunately, this isn’t that world. In this world, Reginald Hargreeves finds her and takes her baby.It doesn't end happily.AU of a Number Eight AU
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Charlie Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Original Female Character(s), Charlie Hargreeves & the Hargreeves Family, The Hargreeves Family
Series: Charlie Hargreeves [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799575
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	a bed of roses and the river at dawn

**Author's Note:**

> so this is labeled as the sad!au in my notes. its the same Charlie as in 'i couldn't utter it' with one big difference
> 
> be aware of the tags please

Charlie’s ear rang. Everything hurt, though. She had never been in the middle of a fight between Luther and Diego before and she wasn’t planning on doing it again. One dodged punch left her flying across the room. 

Pogo had helped her up and out of the room. Left sitting on the main stairs, Pogo went to find Grace to patch up her cuts. She waited for him to turn the corner to the kitchen before she got up and walked out the doors. She had moved out of the Academy years ago, and while Dad wasn’t currently home, she didn’t want to risk it — staying in the Academy longer than she already had.

She was only back because Luther had called a Family Meeting to talk about what they should do about Vanya’s book. It had spilled a lot of personal and security details about the Academy and Luther wanted to discuss their options for getting it taken off the shelves or discredited. 

Charlie knew she only really came to see that her brothers were still alive — Luther was easy to watch what with the missions he was still running for Dad. He was still in the news if you knew what to watch for. Diego was also semi-easy to find. His vigilante activities were not the best-kept secret and Charlie had enough people from the streets come through the store that were willing to admit they saw the ‘Off-brand Batman’ slinking about most nights. 

It was mostly Klaus that she had trouble keeping track of - and he was the one she was most worried about. Although she helped feed a lot of the people who called the streets home, she wasn’t one of them so they hesitated in telling her anything about one of their own. Charlie had only barely managed to track him down after she opened The Flower Shop. She figured that Ben was still haunting him - in the literal sense - and she hoped that Ben was still there even if Klaus was high. She wanted Klaus to have a set of keys to her building - both the apartment on the top floor and the main shop floors that she had stocked with homeless supply bags and had access to the Tree. The Tree was her greatest Growth. A massive 2 story tree ripe with all the fruits, veggies, and nuts that she could get seeds for, the Tree helped feed the people who came through her store. 

She allowed most people to take a piece or two for free but allowed the homeless and hard-hit people to come in before or after her official hours to take as much as they wanted. And while she did like helping those who needed it, she mostly had the idea so she might be able to make sure Klaus was doing ok. After she had been open for a while without seeing him, Charlie had made copies of her keys, spent 2 weeks tracking him through various dealers, johns, and the homeless, and slipped them on a chain around his neck while telling Ben, hopefully, what the keys were for and where the shop was located. 

But now Luther had called a Family Meeting for the siblings still in town.

So Charlie had put on her big girl panties and made the trip home.

She had known before that Allison wasn’t going to be coming — the latest gossip magazines put her in New Zealand for her newest movie — and she guessed that Vanya wouldn’t be welcomed or even invited to the meeting that was for talking about her fuck up. Luther would obviously be there — he called the meeting — but she wasn’t sure about her other two living brothers. Diego might not come just because it was Luther who called the meeting. He might also come cause he wanted the Book gone. Klaus was iffy. If Luther even got a hold of him, if he was sober enough to come, if he remembered it was today…Charlie believed he’d come if only to gather stuff to steal and sell.

She didn’t know if she really wanted to be the only voice of reason amongst her brothers. Klaus would be angry but he wouldn’t voice it to anyone except flippantly — jokingly. Diego would be furious at Vanya but he’d also want to disagree with everything that Luther would say. And Luther would be angry that nobody was agreeing with him straight up, he’d be annoyed by Klaus’ thrifty fingers and Diego’s attitude.

She had been right to be cautious about returning home. No one wanted to hear her theories about why Vanya would write the book. Nor did they even want to talk about her. And Charlie’s insistence on talking about her got on Luther and Diego’s nerves — on top of each other. It had erupted into a fistfight fairly quickly. She was the only one in the house who could step in and stop them. It was to her detriment, however. One of them threw a punch, the other one dodged it, and she caught it in the head. It had sent her flying into the wall near the doors. She felt Pogo help her to her feet and let him lead her out of the library and sat down against the stairs.

She sighed.

While this was the first time most of them were together, she knew that they no longer wanted her there.

Apparently, supporting your sister in an obvious cry for help was enough for them to cut the ties between her and them. She really shouldn’t be as surprised as she was. Throughout their childhood, the higher numbers were a close-knit group with Diego occasionally dropping them to cling to Mom, Klaus and Ben were attached at the hip, and Five and Vanya orbited each other more often than not. She just floated between all of them as needed or wanted. They were not as close as she wanted them to be so the fact that they felt comfortable enough to do that? to shut her out as they did — it hurt but she shouldn’t be so surprised. 

But then Five disappeared, Vanya shut everyone out, Ben died, Klaus dove headfirst into the drugs he had only been flirting with before, and that was it for her. She waited it out till she was 17, storing up cash and items to sell, then was third to actually leave. Klaus bolted just after they all turned 16. Allison left the night before they turned 17. Charlie left the morning after their birthday. She knew that Vanya left soon after her and that Diego held out longer than she thought he would. She knew that Luther would never actually leave. And she was right. They were full adults and here Luther was, still sprouting dad’s words as his own.

Once she was sure that Pogo was gone, she left the house slowly. She now really understood how little she was wanted there and between the missions, the meal-time tapes, and the first-aid lessons she had been taking lately, she felt confident enough to say that she could treat herself at home.

But her ears wouldn’t stop ringing. And it was getting worse.

She had decided to walk home, to help her clear her head — she didn’t want to believe any of the things that her siblings had said. 

Her ears  _ hurt _ .

The farther she got from the Academy, the worse the surroundings got. But her store and apartment were cheap because of the reputation of the area.

As she was passing through the last alley before she got to her street, she failed to notice the figures standing in the shadows.

Her ears were ringing, there was a hand covering her mouth, and an arm across her waist.

* * *

Everything hurt. Her ears were ringing and she couldn’t open her eyes and she didn’t think the taste of iron would ever leave her mouth. The men were getting rougher and she couldn’t get a grip on anything to help her and she started to cry. She reached for the Green, for anything she could use around her that she could use. Being in this alley wasn’t helping her, there was nothing on the surface that she could Feel. She dug deeper and deeper and deeper. 

Finally, she felt the Growth coming up, Green from way below the surface finally answering her call. The grass erupted underneath her and reached for her attackers.

It was too late, however. They had already dropped her and left. The Green turned back to her and it grew up and over her, trying to stop her hurt, trying to comfort her. She slowly turned her head to the soft vegetation that was spreading beneath her. Her crying was finally dying down but she was still having an issue catching her breath. She relaxed back into the ground and did her best to get her breath back.

But everything hurt. She slowly closed her eyes, focusing on the Green that was surrounding her. It had never hurt her like this. And she just wanted to not hurt.

She was just going to take a moment, get the best breath she could, and then she was going to do her best to get to the hospital.

It was only going to be a moment longer.

* * *

Ben was frowning.

Granted he did that a lot, shadowing Klaus as he did, but today — right now was worse. He hadn’t seen Klaus do hits like this since Ben had first appeared to Klaus after that failed mission. But tonight, after the awful family meeting? Klaus was taking everything that he had. It wasn’t hitting dangerous levels yet but Ben was more worried then he had ever been. But he wasn’t surprised. The meeting had been brutal — harsh words thrown around from everyone at everyone. There was a lot of hate that had been said and not all of it was centered on Vanya’s book. Ben had wanted to start shouting back at his siblings — they were, for the most part, idiots at best and complete morons at worst — but he knew if he started to yell as well it would hit Klaus so much worse than it already was. Klaus didn’t handle real genuine familial confrontation well so Ben did his best to keep him calm. 

It was working until Charlie tried to step in between Luther and Diego, and caught Luther’s punch directly. She had gone flying, hitting the fireplace with a large crack. Pogo had helped her up and out of the room murmuring about taking her down to the infirmary, so Ben turned his attention to Klaus, trying to get him out of the room and away from the others.

He hadn’t really given Charlie much thought after that.

Based on her figure in front of him right now, he probably should have.

“Ben? Ben, what’s happening? H-how? Wh-what?” 

“Oh, Charlie-girl. What happened?”

He stepped towards her and swept her into the tightest hug he could. It had been much too long since he had had the chance and he knew how disorienting it could be to wake up dead. She only paused for a second before she reciprocated the hug. When she started to cry, he brought them to the ground so he could get a better grip on her. She curled up into his arms and continued to sob. While he kept his grip on Charlie, he also kept an eye on Klaus.

When he felt her slowly stir after a while, he pulled back. She tensed up slightly but willingly went when he gripped her arms to guide her back. He moved his hands from her arms to cup her face. She looked awful. She had blood dripping down her face from a multitude of cuts, there were plenty of bruises leading from her cheekbones down to dip below her clothes which were all ripped and covered in dirt. The bad feeling in his chest was growing. He didn’t like what her body was telling him.

“Charlie-girl, I need you to tell me what happened.”

She frowned and he could see her think.

“What? I...I left the house? After I got punched. And I was walking home? But I had trouble hearing. They came up behind me. I couldn’t get away. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. They kept hurting me. Why did they keep hurting me? I tried I tried I tried. They hurt me. Why did they hurt me?”

Charlie kept muttering and Ben drew her back into his arms. There was nothing that he could do now but help her. 

He stayed where he was, even when the ambulance came for Klaus.

He wasn’t going to go anywhere until Charlie did.

* * *

Charlie eventually calmed down. They were still curled up together but he wasn’t in a hurry to move. This was the closest he’d been to any of his siblings for who knows how long. Even before his death, they weren’t the most touchy-feely family. He was trying his hardest to forget why he could now have an hours-long cuddle session with his sister.

_ How could anybody do- _

He cut his thought off. He wasn’t going there now. 

When Charlie finally pulled away from him, he shifted from where he was sitting and moved to get up. He offered his hands to pull her up after him but continued to hold her left hand when she was fully standing up. 

“Come on. Klaus is gonna be waking up soon and he’ll be wondering where I am.”

“Nope.”

“No-nope? What does that even mean Charlie-girl?” Ben was incredulous. Why wouldn’t she want to see Klaus?

“Ben. I love you and you’re gonna be my favorite sibling forever now but I’m not going to go see Klaus. I can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just can’t, Ben. I can’t face them.”

With that, she disappeared. He went to go follow her but he paused. He didn’t have any right in trying to force her to face any of their brothers. He frowned in the direction of her place but left to find Klaus. He didn’t like Klaus waking up by himself if he could help it

* * *

Charlie was drained and mindless. After she ran from Ben (BEn!!), she fell back into her nightly habits. Before she knew it, she was climbing the stairs to her apartment. She spent longer then she was ever going to admit staring at her hand going through the door handle. She could feel more tears coming on as she slowly slid her hand through the actual door. She haltingly walked through it into her apartment.

An indeterminate time later Charlie found herself in her bathtub. She shouldn’t be surprised. She always took a bath when she was upset. She was crying again though because she couldn’t actually take a bath. By the pattern of sunshine on the ground from her hallway window, she lost a few more hours.

When she stood up again, she caught sight of herself in her mirror and froze. She was covered in cuts and bruises, her clothes were ripped and caked with dirt. She had to rip herself away from the sight before she started to cry again.

When she got to her living room, she started to pace. She didn’t know what she could do. She didn’t think there was anything she could do. She was dead. And as best she knew, only Ben knew that she was dead. 

And she didn’t know if anyone would ever know. She only vaguely remembered what happened after that but she didn’t think anybody was ever going to find her dead body. They’d probably guess — oh she didn’t even know what they would guess. Probably give her the credit for growing the impromptu garden. 

And when she gave it some more thought — she didn’t think anybody would notice her missing. After that spectacular fall out yesterday with most of her brothers, none of them would be coming to her for any help soon. Allison hadn’t talked to any of them since she left the house at 17. And Vanya made her opinion of Charlie very clear when she went to visit her at her book signing the other day. With Ben knowing about her newly dead state, she would guess that Klaus would know soon as well. 

She actually couldn’t guess whether or not he’d try to track her down. He might just not believe Ben. And in all the years she’s owned the store, Klaus had never stopped by. At least to her knowledge. She had tracked him down the day she got the keys to the building and slipped it on a chain around his neck. He was still wearing it as of the other day. 

Charlie always kept peaches growing for him. They were his favorite when they were kids and she had hoped that he would still like them even to come visit her to get some. And she had a stocked back room, full of clothes in their size and supply baggies full of things he could use out there. She never really noticed anything missing from it but she had Zara keeping check of it and restocking it when needed. 

And Zara...Zara wouldn’t think much of not seeing her. 

Charlie had told him there was a family issue and she’d probably be taking some time off from working the front of the shop. And with the way she had set up her business — everything was automatic. Zara would continue to come on his usual days and hours, he’d get paid every Friday, her bank account was credited a set amount from the city for her work on the parks and such, her building bills were automatically withdrawn. She’d disappear. And people can’t be found when nobody knows they’re missing. 

When Charlie finally realizes that she’s wasted another day just staring out her windows, she just sinks to the floor. What else could she do?

* * *

The sun was coming through her windows when she bolted upright. She could still feel the Green. She was still connected to her plants. 

Charlie turned to face the closet pot, a small aloe plant, where she focused. She reached out and tried to touch the aloe but she fazed through it. However, when she reached for the Green within it? It exploded within her. She felt the aloe, she felt every plant in her apartment, she could feel the plants downstairs in the store, she could even feel the park a block over when she stretched herself a little. 

She jerked back and dropped her reaching. Charlie had never before had that kind of range. Not without some preparations beforehand, not when she was just focusing on a single plant in front of her. 

She beamed, actually happy for the first time in a while. She was glad she still had her Growth, her Green. 

For all the grief that these powers had given her — a father that never loved her, siblings who now hated her, missions that almost destroyed her — she couldn’t bring herself to ever hate them, not the powers, not the Green, themselves.

Charlie stood up and traveled back down to her store. She might be dead but she had a routine she intended to keep. 

* * *

Charlie looked good, Ben decided. Really good actually, despite still being covered in cuts, bruises, and ripped clothes. He had tracked her down to her flower shop when he hadn’t seen her in a while — worried that something else had happened to her.

“You know, if you let Klaus know you’re dead, he could get you cleaned up and in some new clothes.”

She spun to look at him then threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. He reciprocated the hug, burying his head into her shoulder. The one sister who outgrew him. In fact, if not for the floral scent she always had about her, he could imagine it was Klaus so close in size and height, were they. 

She spoke into his shoulder, “Sorry, but I’m still not ready to face him.”

“I’m not rushing you. Just letting you know that’s an option. Otherwise, I’d still be in that awful uniform.”

She giggled and he was relieved. It had been a while since he had heard her laugh. 

Eventually, she pulled away from him but dropped a hand down to hold his.

“Want a tour?” Charlie asked him, sounding very eager to show off her store.

“Can I ask some questions during this tour?”

“Course. What’s up?”

“Well first — you’re dead. How?”

He waved a hand to include the entire store in his question. Don’t get him wrong — he was hella proud of his sister. Proud of all of them honestly cause they were the ones to make something of themselves after leaving, but he was especially proud of Charlie.

He remembers seeing her for the first time after Klaus had left the Academy — they were still only 18 or 19 years old and Klaus was well on his way to visiting the hospital again. Charlie had seemingly tracked him down and she had slipped a key over his neck and told the air around Klaus that it was for her new store. That he was welcome to anything he found there, including the couch. Ben had followed her when she left —when Klaus was this high there was nothing that Ben could do for Klaus and he was curious about her statement.

He was astonished when he had finally finished his trek across the city and ended up at The Flower Shop. He had laughed at the name because that was so Charlie — she never really had the imagination to creatively name things. But the inside of the shop was incredible. Plants covered every surface of the building — everything from flowers (many not in season) to small succulents in cute pots to gorgeous bonsai trees. 

The crowning glory of the store though was the incredibly massive food tree in the middle of the store. Rising two stories, he could see peaches, apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, coconuts, pineapples, peanuts, cashews, almonds, and so many more growing from the tree. There were also vegetables growing up near the roots — carrots and lettuce and potatoes to name a few he knew by sight alone. 

The tree brought back many many memories of late nights at the Academy — nights when they had somehow displeased or disappointed dad and he sent them to bed on little to no food. Charlie had proved herself the kindest of her siblings then — she risked angering dad just to grow them some fruits, usually some carrots or tomatoes, and some nuts. Things that had helped them remain healthy and to get them through the night and to breakfast where Mom usually picked a filling meal for them to start the day with. 

That Charlie had grown a food tree like this and had given Klaus a key… he really really wanted to hug her.

And now, years later, he was back in her store and nothing had changed.

“Well how about I start at the beginning of the story and let you know it will eventually travel back to your question?”

“Why not? I have nothing better to do.”

“Well after dumb and dumber got into their stupid macho fight and I got punched, Pogo took me out to the hallway and then left to get Mom. I snuck out — I didn't think that the punch was so bad and I thought that I could just take care of it at home. I was about a block from my building when the men grabbed me. They knocked my head pretty hard and paired with the punch and crack from the house...I never had a chance to fight back fast. I tried and tried to reach for the Green but it only came after the men had left me. The little garden is still there — all the flowers are black and white. When I woke up I was there in front of Klaus. After I left I lost a couple of days in my apartment crying but one day I woke up and realized I could still feel all the plants in my apartment. That helped me settle myself into this new life such as it is.”

Here she shrugged a little and wandered a little away from him. 

“So you can still use your powers? Even now?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, lifted her arms, and he watched as the plants in the shop grew another inch or two.

“Well, that answers that. So what are you doing now?” 

“Honestly? I’ve been keeping my routine. Almost all of my bills are automatic, my worker likes the routine and I had told him that I was going to be taking a step back to deal with some family stuff, and with me still being able to Grow…well little to nothing had to change. I used some vines to log into my computer upstairs, gave Zara a raise, and sent him an email telling him I wasn’t coming into the store anymore but that he could either email me or write it on the whiteboard in the back. It’s worked for the last couple of weeks.”

“You’ve just been non-living your life?”

“Pretty much.”

He stared at her. She had died and only a couple weeks later she was back to her normal routine. 

“Really?”

“Yup.” She popped her lips when she answered him.

“Still a no on Klaus?”

“Yup. I don’t want to talk to them.”

“Wanna track down Luther or Diego and trip them with your plants?”

“...yes.”

He laughed and threw his arm over her shoulders. 

“Yeah, this was going to be good.”

* * *

They went walking through the city, having decided on finding Diego. It was nice — being able to see and talk to Ben again. They weren’t walking fast — she wasn’t in any mood to actually find Diego although she would absolutely love to see him face plant (the ass.)

What they were doing was catching up. Gossiping. Acting like normal siblings. Charlie loved it. 

“So I heard he dropped out of the academy.” Ben had moved the conversation onto Diego and Charlie spilled what she knew. 

“Dropped out? Nah he was kicked out for fighting.” 

“That does seem more like him.”

“Doesn’t it? I can’t see him actually- Oh My God.” Charlie cut off her statement and gasped.

“What? What?”

“What the actual fuck?”

“What?” Ben was a little worried about what was freaking Charlie out so much.

Charlie just pointed at the figure she had spotted. It was definitely Diego and his outfit… there were no words in the English language that she felt could actually describe how stupid he looked.

“NO!”

“I know.”

“What is he wearing?”

“I think he took a wrong turn to a sex party honestly,” Charlie struggled to get out between her giggles. Diego looked like an idiot — all black clothes and covered in black leather straps that she supposed were there to carry his knife collection. 

She caught Ben’s eyes after she managed to calm down a little and the look of disgust in them set her off again.

By the time they managed to settle themselves, Diego had moved on from the alley they first spotted him in.

“I didn’t think he was going to be the sibling that we’d have to worry about fashion-wise.” Charlie mused aloud.

“My money would have been on Klaus.”

“Could we call it worry when we know he’s dressed as he does?”

They paused after that question and Ben eventually shrugged, “I don't actually want to think any more on his questionable choices. He’s found a pair of lace-up leather pants.”

“He did not.”

“He absolutely did.”

“That’s amazing.”

“No.” Ben disagreed with her immediately. He didn’t want her getting any ideas.

They continued their friendly sibling bickering through the night as they stalked their stabbiest brother.

Charlie mentally gave herself a gold star — she only tripped him once and it was mostly to save him from getting stabbed. 

Mostly. 

* * *

Time continued to move forward in fits and bursts. She eventually typed up a letter explaining her new circumstances to give to Zara — he really deserved to know what was happening and she needed him to start taking on more responsibilities within the store. There were certain things that needed to be done that she just couldn’t do anymore — at least not easily. He was a little spooked that his boss was now a ghost but he was mostly pissed that only two people actually knew she was dead and one was also a ghost. She had to talk him down from doing something stupid like going after the men who killed her or, even worse, tracking down her siblings to give them lectures on basic human decency and healthy sibling relationships.

While she thought they deserved the lectures, she didn't want Zara getting hurt delivering those talks.

What she did do was convince him to move into her apartment, into her second bedroom. His original apartment was a shit hole of epic proportions and she had a perfectly good apartment going to waste. She outright owned the building and her work in keeping up the city's parks and greenery plus the bonus Christmas trees she did come December meant that the city just paid her bills automatically.

Plus she was lonely. Ben only really came by when he knew Klaus was safe or making safe decisions — which wasn’t as often as either of them were comfortable with. Convincing Zara to move in was both easier and harder then she thought but it did help with her loneliness. Once she managed to convince him that she really did want a roommate and she didn’t mind him encroaching on her safe space, he was eager to move in. And he was a nice roommate — they came up with a system of nonverbal communication so her ‘voice’ could be heard. 

He was amused by her habit of taking baths every night for all the good they actually did for her physically. She thought his sleepy path to the coffee maker every morning — running into 3 walls and her couch — was an entertaining morning show.

It took them a surprisingly short amount of time for two of them to fall into a rhythm that worked for them.

Ben, when he finally came around again and found her with a living roommate, thought it was a good thing for her but also had her type a shovel letter for Zara. 

Zara had it framed and positioned it so it was the first thing anyone saw when they walked into the apartment’s door.

Charlie thought all the men she surrounded herself with were idiots.

* * *

Eventually the comfortable rhythm they found themselves in changed though. 

It came back to Reginald again, as it was always going to. 

**Author's Note:**

> i'm still working on chapter 3 of the main Charlie fic but I've had this one finished for a couple of months, so here you go
> 
> come talk to me at my tumblr dcksdrgsdebutantes to talk and to see my character moodboards. also I have a tua discord - give me a shout if you'd like to join


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